Día de los Niños: How to Celebrate

Children’s Day is celebrated around the world. Established by the United Nations, the occasion celebrates children and promotes child welfare. In the United States, Día de los niños is celebrated with Día de los libros on April 30 and promotes literacy in English and other languages. Día, as it is commonly called, is an opportunity to share the importance and joy of reading and to celebrate our multilingual, multicultural identity.

Spanish Playground encourages you to celebrate Día de los niños / Día de los libros with your community, school, class and family.

How To Celebrate Día de los Niños

Día de los niños / Día de los libros is a party where kids come together for book-related fun. Activities might include read-alouds and book-related crafts and games. Every Día de los niños event is different. Día parties are as varied as the children and books they celebrate!

Celebrate Día de los Niños as a Family

At Spanish Playground, we believe that kids and reading naturally lead to fun. Families can celebrate Día de los niños with simple, inexpensive activities. If you work with families, encourage them to celebrate kids and reading. You can share these ideas for easy fun by downloading the printable version in Spanish or English.

• Go to your library and check out new books.
• Read a recipe and and make it together.
• Read a book together before dinner.
• Make a book about your family.
• Read a story outside.
• Read a story and draw a picture of your favorite part of the book.
• Read to a pet or stuffed animal.
• Make a blanket fort or a cozy reading nook.
• Make popcorn and have a reading marathon.
• Attend a Día celebration in your community!

Celebrate Día as a Class, School or Community

Read alouds, book crafts, reader’s theater, book bingo or a book bean bag toss – there are dozens of possibilities for a Día celebration. To choose what is right for your setting, check out these resources. Many book-related organizations have suggestions for planning a Día celebration.

The American Library Association is a major supporter of Día. They have a variety of resources available on the Día page of the ALA website.

First Book has Día de los niños ideas for teachers and families.

Colorín Colorado has many resources for Día celebrations.

2016 Día de los Niños Celebrations

To find a Día event near you, search by zip code on the American Library Association website.

Not all events are registered, so check with your local library.  If you know of an event in your area, please leave the information in a comment below.

Here are just a few of the Día celebrations around the country in 2016

Arizona State University Tempe (Arizona)- May 2

County of Los Angeles Public Library Día Events  (California) – Throughout April in many locations

San Diego County Library (Califorina)- Throughout April in many locations

San Francisco Día events (Califorina) – April 24

Denver Art Museum and Denver Public Library (Colorado) – Weekend-long Celebration April 23-24

Broward County Libraries (Florida) – Late April

Chicago Día de los Niños (Illinois) – April 30

Campbell County Public Library (Kentucky) – April 30

Kensington International Day of the Book (Maryland) – April 24

El Paso Día de los niños (Texas) – April 30

Houston Public Library (Texas) – April 12

Seattle Día Events (Washington) – Throughout April